


The Kidfic AU - 12

by Tieleen



Series: The Kidfic AU [12]
Category: Bandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crack, Gen, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-25
Updated: 2010-08-25
Packaged: 2017-10-11 06:11:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/109263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tieleen/pseuds/Tieleen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Parent-teacher conferences are always a bit weird and painful, because he and Lindsey always used to go together, unless the sky was falling down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Kidfic AU - 12

**Author's Note:**

> This bit came from Sascha asking for Gerard in a parent-teacher conderence. (Technically she asked for three things, or maybe five, but I was always an underachiever.)
> 
> Most of what I know about the US school system comes from TV, and that doesn't really give a very detailed idea of grade school. And is also pretty scary. But hey, this is an alternate universe; who says I can't rewrite the rules so they make sense to me?

1\. Parent-teacher conferences are always a bit weird and painful, because he and Lindsey always used to go together, unless the sky was falling down. The first time after, he half expects some teacher to say, "Oh, Mr. Way! Your wife isn't joining us today?" and he only realizes at the end, after none of them does, all of them giving him sympathetic looks (sometimes wary ones, sometimes uncomfortable), that he was half-hoping it would happen, too, as though if only someone asked, he'd be able to say, "Oh, no, maybe next time."

2\. Gerard and Lindsey go to Bob's school for every parent-teacher conference, and talk to his main teacher, and both Miss Alexander from first grade and Mrs. Maatouf from second tell them largely the same things, as in, that Bob is a great kid and that they adore him, that he's not a fast learner and sometimes he tries very hard and sometimes not so much, and of course more work is always great, but ultimately, he'll be okay (Gerard always listens, and he never hears them mean 'your kid is dumb, but I really like him'; and really it'd be worth coming to PT conference every day of the week just for that, just to know they're there, because having a teacher who understands that learning to read ahead of the curve and being intelligent aren't necessarily one and the same is more than a lot of people can say.)

So they're pretty easy in their minds about school, and it comes as something of a shock when they run into a Mrs. Jennings on the way out after PT in Bob's second year and find out his math teacher doesn't actually even know his name. Spencer's teachers had always known him, and thought well of him, and all signs said Bob-at-home translated pretty well to Bob-at-school; they only realize then, calling in and insisting on meeting all the teachers personally, that the same is true for another three -- not even ones he gets bad grades with, just ones who check his tests and tell him the facts, and nobody really gets why they're taking it hard, except they're both utterly horrified.

So Gerard always tries to meet all the teachers, coming in after school and setting up ten-minute meetings during lunchtime, but even after that, some things he still takes for granted, maybe; and it's -- something else entirely -- when the new art teacher says, cheerful, "You're an artist, really? How funny -- Bob doesn't really seem to enjoy this class. He does what he's supposed to, you know, but you can tell he doesn't have much use for art."

On the way home, he takes a left turn and drives out to the park, pulls over by the curb, because he can imagine Lindsey telling him to, Lindsey pushing the car door open and getting out and screaming wordlessly at the trees, hands clenched and eyes shut. This is another thing where no one would understand why he's horrified but her, not even Pete, maybe, not even Mikey. They'd say what matters is what he knows, what Bob knows, but Gerard thinks about what the world tells you about yourself, and he's afraid.

Afraid and hating the futility of it all, the unfairness; at eleven years old, Bob can already fix old clocks when his grandfather helps him, can cook simple things and sew more complicated ones, make little dolls for Greta and wooden picture frames for family photos. Bob is the most _functional_ person Gerard knows; he _doesn't_ have much use for palm prints on a sheet of paper and carefully outlined pictures of trees, for form without content or aim. But everything he does has -- not elegance, really; Bob has no elegance in him, either. But everything he does is clean, simple lines, careful and half-skilled, everything superfluous taken out, leaving only beauty behind.

In the end, he starts the car and drives back home. Gerard's never been very good at screaming by himself.


End file.
